When Teddy Fikre decided to run for Congress a few months ago, the odds of qualifying for the ballot let alone fielding a viable campaign seemed like an impossible aspiration. After all, it takes millions of dollars, the backing of special interests, wide name recognition and the endorsement of political insiders to have a shot of winning a US Congressional seat.
But Teddy believed that if he put in the work, rejected the politics of division and antipathy and instead ran a campaign rooted in inclusion and economic justice for all, voters in the 8th Congressional District would embrace his candidacy. Armed with nothing but faith and a tenacious work ethic, the only thing he inherited from his dad, Teddy collected over 1,500 petition signatures and qualified for the November general election ballot in June.
Today, our David vs Goliath campaign is slowly gaining momentum as more and more people are finding out about Teddy’s candidacy. We are proud to announce the following big developments that have transpired over the last couple of days alone.
Arlington Civic Federation “Meet the Candidate” Forum: In what is widely viewed as the unofficial campaign kickoff for Northern Virginia, the Arlington Civic Federation extended an invite to Teddy to participate in their forum. Teddy accepted the invitation as did incumbent Don Beyer and Republican challenger Karina Lipsman. This will be the first time all three US House of Representatives candidates for the 8th Congressional District will be in the same forum and will give voters a chance to get to know more about each candidate and where they stand on the issues that matter to Virginians. The event will be held on Tuesday, September 6th at the Hazel Auditorium at Virginia Hospital Center starting at 7:00 PM. More info to come.
Virginia Police Benevolent Association Forum: Teddy has been invited to attend the Virginia Police Association Candidate screening on Friday, August 19th. All three candidates have been invited to this very important meeting issues ranging from crime prevention, public safety and strengthening the bridge between the police and the communities they serve will be discussed. The event will take place at the Sully District Station at 4900 Stonecroft Blvd, Chantilly, Virginia from 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
Interview on VOA Amharic: Teddy was interviewed on VOA Amharic by host Lily Yekoye as he presented his views and the reasons why he decided to run for Congress. The interview is only available for the time being in Amharic he made the case to the Ethiopian-American community that he has been spelling out to every other constituency. The same spirits of separatism and animosity that are rooted in ethnicity that is plaguing Ethiopia are evident here in America as we are conditioned to view our neighbors as foes to conquer instead of understanding that we have a common struggle and a common hope for a better tomorrow. You can listen to the full interview at https://amharic.voanews.com/a/6681704.html
Twitter verified: Teddy’s campaign Twitter account was verified by Twitter just this morning. Though Teddy believes that the only way he can get elected is by connecting with people on the ground instead of depending on social media “buzz”, getting verified is nonetheless big news as it enables us to broaden our reach and gives our campaign the added credibility needed to gain access to campaign events and the debates coming up in the next couple of months. You can follow Teddy Fikre on Twitter @Fikre4VA
Going forward, every Monday, we will send out updates about our campaign and give updates about various events that Teddy will be attending. As always, we highly encourage you to get plugged into our campaign, we have already fielded a staff of amazing organizers who are determined to be a part of a truly organic and grassroots campaign, we believe that people power can overcome plutocrat dollars; if you believe that as well and want to truly disturb the status quo so that we can restore representative government, email us at [email protected] and join us in our journey to deliver change to Virginia.
Find out more about Teddy Fikre’s message and our campaign’s stances on the issues that matter to all of us by subscribing to our YouTube channel HERE and listening to a message of inclusion that Teddy gave at the Black Employee Council’s Juneteenth event.